Sayings Saturday

How is it that sometimes I almost forget Sayings Saturday?  I've done this 14 times now, so for over 3 months and I almost forgot?! Again?!  Seriously.  I am a terrible blogger lately!  I really need to improve.  Plus, I haven't been hiking.  And, there is no way I'm going today.  Maybe tomorrow I will go in the evening.  During the day it will be too hot.  I am thinking of going out to the beach at Strouds Run to just laze in the water?  Maybe I'll post it on my Meetup group and see if anyone is game to drive down to Athens tomorrow or Monday to laze with me at Strouds in the Lake then hike in the evening when it cools off.  Its a thought.  Anyway, I'll try to take some photos if I do AND actually post them.  I still have a set of photos left to post from Dawes Arboretum, a set from Pickerington Ponds, some random photos of the kidos (blurried of course) from the past few weeks), AND several sets of photos from Battelle Darby Creek from weeks ago.  I am a horrid blogger!!!!  Forgive me.  I just haven't been in the mood to edit photos lately (what is that?).  But, PicMonkey has done an upgrade and I'm so curious about it, maybe that will give me a boost!   (If you've never been to PicMonkey, that is where I do all my photo editing now and I adore it.  Please check it out.  When they start charging, I will be the first person to pay up and enter in my credit card because I won't mind paying for the service!  They are awesome!  Check out the site here. )

Anyway, back to the focus of this blog.  This photo was actually shot at Pickerington Ponds.  It as a total fluke and I did not expect that I would actually get the photo of the butterfly.  But, I DID!  Yippee.  So, yes, this is a real butterfly, not pasted on.  I love it and am so proud of this photo.  I hope you like it.  Enjoy Sayings Saturday.  I'm so glad I remembered before I got into my next Korean Drama on Netflix!

Dawes Arboretum: Set 2

Today was very much a Monday.  I over slept and didn't wake up until 8:15 am.  That is when I'm supposed to leave for work.  So, no shower, just up, dress and run out the door.  Thank goodness there were no state troopers on the road. I was only about 8 minutes late. 

Then about half way to the office I realized I didn't have my wallet.  No big deal really.  Except, I hadn't eaten and now I had no way to get anything for lunch.  Hmmm.... So, on my lunch break I drove home to get my wallet.  I found it, then headed back to town hoping to have just enough time to get something quick before I needed to be back.  I opened up said wallet part way back into town only to see, no debit card.  WHAT?!!!  Now, the entire purpose of my trip was shot.  But, I did have my id and check book, so off to the grocery store (really quick) to get some food BY WRITING A CHECK.  I haven't done that in ages. 

Then there was work.  Crazy sauce.  So busy I can hardly recount.  And at the end of the day as I'm getting ready to wrap things up, one of my staff calls to ask if I can swing by her room before I leave.  She needs to talk to me about a couple of the kids.  Okay, fine.  I want to just leave, but I SUPPOSE that's my job.  ;)  So, when I get there she tells me these two boys (7 year olds) spent part of their afternoon sitting by the door watching parents coming in the door so they could look at their butts and critic them (until they were found out); then they started asking her inappropriate questions.  Do you have a boyfriend?  Do you kiss?  Do you shower together? and so on.  What the heck?!  So, I get to have a delightful conversation with these two boys about how these are not nice things to ask and how 'would it embarrass you to have those things done to you and have those questions asked?'; then we don't do that to other people.  Some things are private.  Ugh, some days kids are just so much fun.

Anyway, needless to say, today was a major Monday.  The rest of my day at work was NON-STOP chaos and I am exhausted.  I plan to finish editing my next set of photos from Dawes and then get to bed.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Enjoy the pictures and here's hoping your week started out better!

Dawes Arboretum: Set 1

Several weeks ago I decided I needed to become more social.  I'm not usually good at that.  I like to be on my own when I'm not at work.  I am a loner.  I live alone, eat alone, hike alone, etc.  But, I know I need to do more with other people, so I joined a group.  I found a website called Meetup.com and joined a group called HikeOhio!  They are based out of Columbus and do most of their hikes in that area.  That is fine with me as I do a lot of hikes lately in that area, travel there a lot for personal reasons and hope to move there soon. 

Today was my first hike with the group.  We met at Dawes Arboretum and it was beautiful.  I spent the first part of my time at the Arboretum with the group and the later half on my own taking pictures and exploring.  For all my push to join a group, I still have a strong desire to be on my own and I could only handle so much time doing what other people wanted to do.  (Sorry, I mean no offense by this.  I've just been single and independent way too long!)

Anyway, here is the first set of photos from my hike.  All total I have about 60 photos to edit and publish.  This is the first 20.  I hope you like them.  I know I loved the Arboretum and will be going back some time in the future!  Enjoy!

Sayings Saturday

Fill in the Blanks Friday!!!!!

If you'd like to join in the fun today, head over here.

1.  Something that is very near and dear to my heart is,   my kids.  I don't have any of my own, but between my ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL niece and THREE nephews; and a day care center full of kids, I Love them all so much!!!    .

2.      Having a night away from home with a TV and Microwave.   is good cause to celebrate .  (yes, i don't have those things by choice, but sometimes it is really fun to stay at a hotel with those fun amenities!)

3.  The most fun I ever had was    a weekend in Cleveland when I was a junior in college for the OPRA conference.  We had so much fun as a group of VERY young professionals (God, I was so young then!)  We learned things, met professionals and had some amazing nights out!  That's a weekend I'll never forget, (well, certain parts I forgot, but that's not my fault, that was the alcohol.)

4.  True friends are   there for you no matter what, supportive and the people you can go to even when its been a really long time  .

5. Something that makes me terribly happy is       Logan!  He is so perfect and I feel blessed beyond measure to have a new nephew and to add to our beautiful family .

6. A good way to spend a sunny day is     hiking, swimming, or doing anything fun outside!

7.  My favorite celebratory food is   any kind of yummy desert.  The richer, the better.  It doesn't have to be chocolate, just really good.  Tonight I'm enjoying my night away from home with some lemon squares.  Delish.

Logan Max Bumgardner

This morning at 8:14 am, Logan Max Bumgardner was delivered via Cesarean Section in Orville, Ohio.  He is the son of my brother Phillip and sister-in-law Megan.  His big sister Kayla, was very excited (and a little scared) to meet him! 

Logan weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz.  He is 20 inches long and has a very full head of hair.  He is an absolutely beautiful baby and I am so proud to be his Aunt.  Here are my first pictures of Logan taken just within hours of his birth.  I hope you like them!